How To Founder

What transforms a lone visionary into the leader of a movement?

In this episode, Chris and Anthony unpack the first follower principle and reveal what early believers are actually buying when they choose to follow you. Spoiler: it's not your product, your pitch, or even your vision. It's the identity upgrade they get from being first.

You'll discover why Infusionsoft's early customers weren't buying software but b...

Eighty-four percent of B2B sales start with a referral—so why are most founders still waiting for them to happen naturally?

In this episode, Brandon Barnum, CEO of HOA.com and author of Raving Referrals, reveals the system that turns referrals from occasional windfalls into predictable pipeline. Discover why asking for referrals at the beginning of a relationship (not the end) changes everything, how to automate referral requests so...

What if everything you've been told about burnout is wrong?

In this raw and revealing episode, hosts Anthony Franco, Chris Franks, and Stephanie Hayes dismantle the traditional definition of founder burnout. It’s not just about working too hard—it’s about a dangerous misalignment between your energy and your vision. Discover why "rest" might be the wrong prescription, how the "Practitioner's Paradox" is s...

What if that "non-dilutive capital" just put your house on the line?

Most founders think equity is their only option, but 73% of businesses seeking financing actually apply for loans. The gap isn't about availability—it's about understanding what you're signing up for. In this episode, we break down SBA loans, personal guarantees, convertible debt, factoring, and the brutal truth about when debt accelerates you...

Why do some founders get replies from total strangers while your emails get ignored?

Research from Boomerang analyzed five million emails and found messages between fifty and one hundred twenty-five words get the highest response rates. Yet most founders either write novels or fire off three-sentence pitches. When one founder launched his SaaS product, he built his early customer base through cold email by spending thirty minutes re...

Founders spend an average of fourteen months running a business they know is dying. Why?

In this raw, unfiltered episode, Anthony Franco opens up about the collapse of MC Squares—a company doing four hundred thousand in monthly revenue that imploded after an Amazon glitch tanked sales by fifty percent overnight. Stephanie Hays shares her battle with a zombie company: profitable, stable, loved by customers, but trapped in limbo with ...

You sold your company. The wire cleared. Six months later, you're more anxious than when you were working 80-hour weeks.

Most founders spend years planning their exit strategy and zero hours planning what happens the day after the deal closes. Tom Freiling led a digital publishing company to NASDAQ, sold it, then launched into his next venture without taking a breath. Looking back, he calls it his biggest mistake. The problem wa...

Your benefits broker just bought a boat. You paid for it.

Mid-size companies waste an average of eighteen hundred fifty six dollars per employee annually on hidden broker fees their advisors never disclose. These aren't mistakes. They're business models built on your ignorance. When your broker's compensation rises with your costs, fiduciary duty dies. They'll smile, bring donuts to enrollment meetings, and quietly c...

You bought the expensive firewall. You paid for the certifications. You still wake up wondering if one phishing email could wipe you out.

Most founders throw money at cybersecurity like it's insurance against catastrophe. They stack tools, chase compliance badges, and assume more spending equals more protection. Meanwhile, the three attack vectors responsible for 82% of breaches sit wide open because they're boring to fix an...

When was the last time you made a business decision before asking what it costs in taxes?

Most founders design their operations first, then call their accountant in March to calculate the damage. They hire in July, buy equipment in November, distribute profits in December, and never consider tax implications until the bill lands. Mike Jesowshek spent a decade watching entrepreneurs bleed five figures annually, not from missing deduc...

What if that pit in your stomach before a difficult conversation isn't weakness—it's wisdom? Most founders think nervousness before hard talks signals they're unprepared. The reality? Zero anxiety means you're about to be too harsh or unclear. That discomfort is your nervous system telling you the stakes are real and the relationship matters. In this episode, we break down why calibrating your emotional state—findin...

Why do the processes you create end up ignored? You document workflows, create templates, build systems—and then nobody uses them. The problem isn't discipline. It's design.

Most founders treat processes like chores instead of products. They skip user research (who's actually using this?), ignore usability (can someone follow this under pressure?), and never iterate. Colin Gray turned this around by building The Podc...

What if everything you know about authentic leadership is wrong?

In this eye-opening episode, we sit down with executive coach Andrew Poles, a 3x founder who's guided over 10,000 leaders worldwide. Discover why the "authentic you" who got you here won't get you there, how elite founders rehearse their leadership character like actors prep for Broadway, and the exact moments you need to perform confidence you don...

What if the moment you finally exhale is the moment your business starts to die?

This raw, unfiltered conversation between Chris Franks, Anthony Franco, and Stephanie Hays tackles the uncomfortable truth most founders avoid: success breeds complacency, and complacency breeds failure. They dissect why seventy-three percent of midsize companies plateau within three years of hitting profitability, explore the addictive nature of startu...

Ever wonder if you're the bottleneck in your own business?

According to MIT Sloan Management Review, fifty-eight percent of executives admit their leadership approach hasn't evolved with their organization's growth stage. What worked brilliantly at five employees creates chaos at fifty. In this revealing episode, we sit down with Dr. Christiane Schroeter—TEDx speaker, top one percent podcaster, and leadership coach with ...

Your obsession with flawless execution might be the very thing holding your company back.

Most founders rise to leadership because they're exceptional operators—they solve problems faster, think deeper, and deliver better than anyone else. But here's the uncomfortable truth: those same skills that made you invaluable as an individual contributor actively work against you as a leader. In this episode, Andrew Poles, three-time...

Are you about to waste six months pitching investors who'll never bite?

Most founders confuse hope with readiness—they chase funding before the metrics prove they deserve it. The gap between "we should raise" and "we're ready to raise" costs founders equity, momentum, and credibility. This episode breaks down the exact signals that separate wishful thinking from genuine round readiness.

Drawing on insights...

What if the key to survival isn't cutting costs—it's spending smarter?

Most founders facing a cash crunch default to slash-and-burn mode, gutting their teams and operations in a panic. But CB Insights reveals that thirty-eight percent of failed startups died not from spending too much, but from cutting the wrong things at the wrong time. When DataVox CEO Pete Caputa faced six months of runway, he did the unthinkable: he doub...

What if chasing the latest software stack is sabotaging your business?

In this revealing episode, we sit down with Lucas Erb, founder of AIExperts.com and former Deloitte consultant, who challenges everything founders think they know about technology decisions. Discover why enterprises waste 38% of their IT budgets on redundant software, how Shopify's "boring" technology choice saved years of migration pain, and why yo...